The Girls in the Garden: A Novel (edição 2016)

I enjoyed this character study of relationships between neighbors and almost friends. Well done ( )

Following a tragic incident, Clare and her daughters, Grace and Pip, move into a new flat in London where a private, three-acre communal garden shared by several families provides the children with a place of safety outside of their home. But during the annual summer party, Pip finds Grace unconscious and bloody, lying in a hidden corner of the rose garden. Who is responsible for what happened to Grace? And who can be trusted?

Told alternately by Pip, her mother, Claire, and their neighbor, Adele, the narrative sets up the attack on Grace and then moves to “before” to provide the backstory for the assault. The “after” chapters tie up the story. Although the characters are nuanced and well-developed, most of the young people are opprobrious and the appalling adult behavior is contemptible. The plot, twisty and full of unexpected revelations, plays out to an anti-climactic denouement that is merely “meh” and raises far more questions than it answers.

As with many teen dramas, angst, mean girls, cliques, and jealousy all play into the telling of this distasteful tale. Choosing inaction in order to guard their long-held secrets, the adults constantly imitate ostriches and deliberately ignore what is happening with their children. How is it even plausible that ALL of the adults can have opted out of their parenting responsibilities?

Many readers will have an issue with the truly reprehensible treatment of mental illness in the telling of this tale. Additionally, there’s a problem with the lack of repercussions for the children’s inappropriate language and behavior, both resulting from the absence of parental guidance. What parent allows her pre-teen daughter to sit in a boy’s lap and make out or to curse at her? Truth be told, the completely dysfunctional, smarmy adults populating this ever-more-annoying tale are likely to trigger the readers’ feelings of repugnancy.

The ending is, for many, a huge letdown. So much remains unaddressed and it’s far too unrealistic to think that the police would simply drop their investigation. And how is it possible that, after the attack, everyone simply goes back to their same-old, same-old behaviors with no justice for the victim and absolutely no accountability for the perpetrator?

As for the conspicuously inappropriate actions of the just-turned-thirteen girl in the elevator with the boy she covets as a boyfriend, cue the eye-rolling, head-shaking, and sighs of disbelief. Really?

Despite all that, it’s the over-use of an unnecessary and offensive expletive that lowers the rating for this book. ( )

I gave this 4 stars because it kept me interested all the way to the end. It was a unique picture of suburban life with some dark undertones. Well-written, good suspense. ( )

Lisa Jewell writes excellent suspense novels. This particular story was set in a neighborhood sharing a large, rambling garden. As we all know, the garden is a place of temptation and mystery. Several daughters from multiple families come together and a mysterious event occurs. Themes abound, including first love, trust/distrust, coming of age, and more. Questions abound too. Can people be too open and tolerant? How do parents and their children and couples cope with intimate knowledge of one another? How much freedom is too much? Should the gardens of life have boundaries, fences? How old is old enough? It's a good one. I spent the first half getting the characters straight and knowing that something untoward was going to happen, and I spent the second half trying to figure out what really happened. Here's to a good page turner! ( )

I have become a big fan of Lisa Jewell’s mysteries but this one was just meh...ok for me. There is a lush garden in the middle of a housing complex, setting is the middle of London.

A woman moves in with her two daughters, Grace and Pip, and has a bit of adjustment to the communal lifestyle of the garden. Children freely wander around, into each other’s homes. There’s an Earth Mother sort who home schools and feeds everyone natural healthy fare, her very handsome charming husband Leo and a few dysfunctional characters.

During a birthday party that runs late in the evening, children are still up running around mind you, 13 year old Grace is found in the bushes, bloodied and in a coma. The resulting investigation reveals some interesting facts about both the adults and children. I’ll say I very much enjoyed Jewell’s other mysteries more but this wasn’t a DNF. ( )